COMMENT 305697
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2012-08-08 08:48 AM |
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Praying Mantis
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COMMENT 305700
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2012-08-08 08:53 AM |
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Praying Mantis. Some states will fine you $ if you even touch them.
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COMMENT 305701
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2012-08-08 08:53 AM |
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Jerome!
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COMMENT 305702
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2012-08-08 08:55 AM |
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Yup, praying mantis, they are good at blending in with the plants they hang out in. Fascinating creature huh?
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MTNDRIVER
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2012-08-08 08:56 AM |
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You are so lucky to see this guy! Praying mantis as others have already said.
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COMMENT 305706P
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2012-08-08 08:58 AM |
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@700: That's actually not true (but widely believed!): http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/mantis2.asp
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COMMENT 305715P
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2012-08-08 09:17 AM |
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Isn't Snopes handy?
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COMMENT 305724
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2012-08-08 09:36 AM |
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706: Thanks for that! I grew up thinking it was illegal to kill them, too (at least in NJ/PA). Never thought to snopes that....
No question this is a mantis. Love these guys!
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COMMENT 305778P
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2012-08-08 10:32 AM |
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Mantis - they are great. One of the few insects that I really like to see. They are just so interesting!
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COMMENT 305785
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2012-08-08 10:46 AM |
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I grew up in PA and we all were told that as kids.
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COMMENT 305807P
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2012-08-08 11:23 AM |
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Praying mantis. So cool. I didn't know we had them in Santa Barbara. Yippee. Now if we only had fireflies.
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COMMENT 305818
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2012-08-08 11:40 AM |
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Stagmomantis....(Praying Mantis). Love them!!!!! I will definitely come back as one in my next life.....
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COMMENT 305847P
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2012-08-08 12:23 PM |
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I agree it is a Praying Mantis, but I don't agree that they are so cool. ~Gives me the heebie jeebies!!!!!
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COMMENT 305928
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2012-08-08 02:30 PM |
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I'm kind of iffy about praying mantis, but it's probably just a guy thing...
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COMMENT 305971
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2012-08-08 03:34 PM |
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807P
You can buy their eggs from Ace downtown every now and again
One case will yield approximately 50-200 nymphs. I found one "Mantis" at a Goleta Gas station once on a pump. I picked up and took it to the nearby bushes to let it hunt. I used to love catching them as a kid
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COMMENT 305982
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2012-08-08 03:53 PM |
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OP here: @ 807: I never saw them here before either! Remember them from my childhood in Indiana, along with those lovely fireflies. Miss them both. Today I went back to the spot where I found it yesterday, could not find the guy. Do they move around a lot?
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COMMENT 305847P
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2012-08-08 04:31 PM |
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@ the OP, 807P here. They fly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had one summer down in Santa Ana/Tustin area of Orange County when I was a kid that was a banner year for Praying Mantii? Mantises? I remember going outside to play with the neighborhood kids and having not one, but two land in my hair!!!!! They were just all over our neighborhood for about a month or so! I can't stand them! @971, Oh thanks! You just HAD to go there!!! A great visual image that I can't get out of my mind now! Yuck! ;-)
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COMMENT 306018
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2012-08-08 04:59 PM |
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so lucky!...like seeing the wild parrots...
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COMMENT 306061
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2012-08-08 06:53 PM |
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SO cool. Can't believe it let you get that close. It looks like a little alien. I've convinced myself it's looking for help. I just want to tell it to phone home.
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RLMCDON
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2012-08-08 08:59 PM |
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How interesting! My daughter came home from Zoo Camp today saying there was a praying mantis that landed on another camper. What a coincidence!
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COMMENT 306151
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2012-08-09 07:23 AM |
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Does it have two right wings?
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CORKY
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2012-08-09 08:45 AM |
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wonderful insects and I doubt they would attack one.
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COMMENT 306295
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2012-08-09 10:59 AM |
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Eww and you touched it! It's a praying mantis and I am again reminded how big they are. To all you bug lovers out there, I know they are good for the environment, albeit the bruised spider bite on my ankle that continues to itch. But to me and so many others, ewwwww!
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COMMENT 306454
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2012-08-09 03:05 PM |
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@295 Mantises are great for other types of pest control, even if they make you go ew. Next time you get a spider or insect bite that itches a whole bunch, when you first notice it put some vinegar OR baking soda paste on it. The change in pH can denature the enzymes that make it itch. Helps a lot for mosquito bites especially. @700 I always loved that rumour because it keeps a lot of people from touching, capturing, or killing these wonderful predators! They're so good for your garden it's such a delight to see them. I like taking them home and releasing them in my garden, hoping it's a gravid female that will lay tons of eggs in my yard for the next season. :)
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